Damned
by Mercedes Watson
Summary: They're damned if they do and they're damned if they don't. Romy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or Marvel nor do I own Jon Bon Jovi and the wonderful music that he makes. But the thought of owning him in some manner makes me strangely happy ;). The intro song is _Damned_, it's by Bon Jovi, from their _These Days_ album. I highly recommend it.

_This is rated M for a reason. _If you don't like it or are not legally able to read it, then don't and go elsewhere. Please.

A/N: Since I get the feeling that no one really reads my bio page, I think I should tell you all I got a LiveJournal account, which I'll use to update about the status of fics and other stuff like thoughts/rants about things in fan-fiction, the Romy relationship and some Battlestar Galactica stuff too for you BSG _and_ X-Men fans. And probably some Heroes stuff too. So check it out, the username is: mwffj (Mercedes Watson's Fan Fiction Journal).

_Damned_  
By: Mercedes Watson

_Lying here beside you in someone else's bed_  
_Knowing what we're doing's wrong_  
_But better left unsaid_  
_Your breathing sounds like screaming_  
_It's all that I can stand_  
_His ring is on your finger_  
_But my heart is in your hands_  
_Damned if you love me_  
_Damned if you don't_  
_It's getting harder holding on, but I can't let you go_  
_Damned if you don't need me_  
_Damned if you do_  
_Oh God, I wish it wasn't me standin' in these shoes_

They had to stop doing this.

It was wrong.

She was going to be _married_ in three months.

He was in a long-term relationship with Betsy.

But none of these thoughts stopped Remy as he pressed Rogue up against wet, tiled wall of one of the showers in the women's locker room. He didn't care that he was getting his pants wet, having already taken his shirt off before stepping into the shower with her. The water was deliciously hot, steam rising around them like a fog. His lips and tongue moved against hers like an expert in his element. Dare he say that perhaps he knew her mouth better than Betsy's? The thought quickly died as he moved his mouth from Rogue's perfect lips to the creamy skin of her neck.

"Remy—" She weakly protested, hands on his chest but slowly sliding down to his waist. "What—what about Bets—"

"Out shoppin' with Jean and Kitty." He replied into her neck. Rogue was undoing his pants and he sighed with anticipation as she slowly slid down his zipper. "So we've got at least three hours." Lower and lower his kisses ventured until he was very close to taking one of Rogue's pink nipples into his mouth. "Where's Joseph?"

"Out with Scott and Warren somewhere." She sighed. "What about…everyone else?"

Remy pulled away and looked at Rogue, smoothing a clump of damp hair out of her face. "It's Friday night _chere_ and we're just about de only people left in de house." He smiled.

Rogue smiled back at him, rising up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Remy's neck and kiss him soundly on the lips. She loved Remy; she knew it like she knew her own name. But it was complicated. They couldn't just leave their significant others, it was liable to at least divide the team if not tear it apart with friends taking sides with the various parties involved.

Besides, she thought as Remy lifted her up against the wall and slid into her, he probably got off on the secrecy of it just as much as she did. He sunk his teeth into the curve where her neck met her shoulder and Rogue threw her head back, moaning like a Siren in heat. She smiled wickedly as Remy growled his satisfaction at pleasing her so and picked up his pace.

"Ya like that Swamp Rat?" She purred into his ear.

Remy groaned against her, making her sigh. "Y'know I can get off on just de noises ya make alone."

"Don't Ah know it." She replied, thinking of a mission in which they really had proven that. They had been assigned to scout out an abandoned building together while looking for some mutant and they had spilt up to cover more ground as it was a large structure. They flirted and bantered over the walkie-talkie headsets in their usual way until Remy had said something too racy and Rogue pretended to take offense. In actuality, they switched over to a different channel, one that was quite a few frequencies away from the rest of the X-Men. They continued to say lecherous things to each other and Rogue ended up sensuously moaning in reply to something Remy promised he would do to her later. Remy replied that he liked that, which only encouraged Rogue further. They didn't find the kid, but Remy did end up leaving some of his DNA behind.

Rogue's mind returned to the present as Remy pressed his thumb to her clit. She bit her lip as sensation ripped through her, making her arch her back off the tiles. Despite virtually no one still being in the house, they still had to take some precautions. Anyone was liable to walk in. His mouth sealed over hers as he swirled his thumb around her nub, her moans becoming louder and louder with each thrust. A few more and she was clutching him as close as possible to her, fingers digging into his back as she shattered around him. She was barely done her own climax as Remy reached his, shuddering against her.

They kissed passionately for a few moments afterwards, not wanting the moment to end. When they finally broke for air, both were panting heavily and Remy's jeans were nothing but a wet denim blob around his feet.

"I love you." He said, their foreheads touching and wet hair hanging in their faces.

"Ah love ya too." She replied, a soft smile on her lips. She leaned up and kissed him again. It was meant to be just a quick kiss before she stepped out of the shower and dressed herself. But soon it dissolved into a heated melding of lips, Remy stepping out of his jeans and wrapping both arms tightly around her.

"Hold on." She said, breaking the kiss. "Why don't ya meet me in my room in ten minutes?"

Remy sighed, as if it was taking him great effort to refrain from just taking Rogue against the wall again. "Why not my room?"

"Because ya get too comfy after we're done and fall asleep. Then Ah fall asleep. And then we almost get caught like the last time we were in your room."

"Right, right." Remy nodded, letting her go. She stepped out of the shower and got some towels while he shut off the shower. She tossed him one and he caught it, wrapping it around his lean waist. He sat on the bench watching her towel off and get dressed, enjoying the show.

"So, t'ink yo' gonna be able t' wait ten minutes?" He finally asked when she was dressed before him.

"Ah think so." She said. "But if you're any later than five minutes, Ah'm startin' without ya."

"You just better be naked wearin' not'in' but dem back stilettos on de bed when I get up dere or ya ain't startin' not'in'."

She shot him a look and slapped him on the ass. "Smart ass." She grumbled.

"You like it." He said before leaning in for a quick kiss. "Now get befo' someone walks by and wonders which X-_femme's_ voice just got a whole lot deeper."

"Ten minutes." She repeated and turned and left.

Remy watched her go and waited at least five minutes before putting his shirt back on and grabbing his soaked jeans and heading for the door that Rogue just left through. He peeked out into the hallway that connected the men's and women's locker rooms and saw that it was clear. Quickly, he darted the forty feet down the hall to the door of the men's locker room and dashed inside. He stood just inside the door, listening and hearing that it was mercifully quiet. He threw his jeans in the industrial laundry bin as he passed it heading to his locker. There was a fresh change of clothes in his locker and he quickly changed into them, being mindful of how much time he had left. He threw the towel he had been using in the same laundry bin as his jeans as he left, satisfied that he would make it in time.

He remembered how this had all started. There was a time where they hardly knew each other because they were on different teams. And the X-Men had been busy with saving the world and keeping everything from ripping apart at the seams and all that bull. A lull in the action happened upon them and stretched out for months. To keep everyone from going stir crazy, Scott and Storm decided to mix up the teams and Remy was placed on Rogue's team. They were partnered together in Danger Room sessions frequently, which first exposed Rogue to his flirting. They bantered easily and started hanging around each a bit more, even going out on a couple of friendly dates when Betsy and Joseph had been busy with other things.

Then came The Mission. It had happened about a year ago, they were sent down south, just the two of them, to scope out a local Friends of Humanity chapter. Make sure that they weren't getting too uppity or in the midst of planning some huge Secret Evil Plan ™ that they were going to unleash on the unsuspecting public and the X-Men. On the third night of their mission, they were stranded in their dingy hotel room, a mother of a storm lashing the windows and flooding all the nearby roads. Around this time, Remy had found that he had some serious…appreciation for Rogue. Especially since she learned to control her powers and now was dressed in denim shorts and a thin white blouse that was knotted at the waist. He had never loved the heat and humidity of the south and a broken air conditioner more than he did that night. The curtains fluttered in the breeze from the windows that were open, protected from the rain by the walkway for the third floor. Warm and moist air blew in, making their clothes feel slightly uncomfortable and stray hairs falling out of Rogue's updo to to stick to her sweat-damp neck. He accidentally cornered her in the kitchen while he made lemonade and she cooked them both up some grilled cheeses on the teeny tiny stove. There was a moment of murmured apologies for getting in each other's way and cursing the small kitchen. But it stopped as they looked into each other's eyes for a heated moment. Remy was the first to close the distance between their lips with a wild and hot kiss. Soon she was relieving him of his shirt as he lifted her knee to wrap around his waist. Her blouse was unbuttoned most of the way and her bra unhooked as Remy carried her over to the bed (he had been sleeping on the couch up until that point). Thankfully, Rogue hadn't turned on the stove yet as then the hotel would have burned down; both of them were too distracted with each other to notice anything else. It had been some of the best sex, no, lovemaking, of his life that night. Rogue was perfect; wanting and needing, giving and taking, gasping, moaning and arching as he pushed her body to its limits. She had also returned the favor in full, leaving them lying underneath the top sheet spent and exhausted.

Two things happened to him that night. The first was that he was actually jealous of Joseph Lensherr for once in his life. The second, more important and life-changing fact was that he fell in love with her that night. That singular taste of her left him addicted for life. Maybe he had been in love with her before that night and didn't know it, but his fate had definitely become sealed that night. He stayed up a little while after she had fallen asleep next to him, watching her, thinking that she was an angel. Then his eyes lighted on the necklace around her neck, a gift from Joseph, and everything seemed less wonderful. He kept his feelings secret from her, accepted her talk in the morning that it had been a mistake and they had avoided each other when they returned. For three weeks, she hadn't even looked him in the eye and always had some excuse for not being at Danger Room sessions when he was there.

Then on some idle, warm, Saturday afternoon Rogue paid a visit to him in the garage while he was working on his motorcycle. There was some small talk that he couldn't remember but he could tell that when she said "Joseph asked me ta marry him", it hadn't been anywhere near what they had been talking about. Because right after she said that, he dropped the wrench he had been holding and it landed right on his foot and he didn't even make a sound. He hadn't even been wearing boots at the time, let alone steel-toed boots that would have protected his second toe from breaking. He cleared his throat as if there was suddenly something stuck in it and managed to rasp out a "congratulations". Rogue then proceeded to close the distance between their bodies, ran her hands up from his chiseled stomach to his face, which she pulled down to give him a thorough kiss that lead to one of the most arousing make out sessions of his life. He tried in vain to stop her in the beginning, but he was powerless against her. She stopped and just held on to him for a long period of time, burying her face into his chest like if she were to let go, he would vanish into thin air.

"Ah think Ah love you, Remy LeBeau." She finally admitted, barely above a whisper.

Remy wrapped his arms around her and held her as she quietly sobbed into his chest, completely torn over what to do

"We can't tell them." She whispered, sniffing.

He grabbed her shoulders and held her out in front of him. "Why not?"

"Because…because Ah don't want ta tear the team apart. Ah don't want ta be the center of some scandal and have people starin' at me as Ah walk down the hall."

"Fair enough." He sighed. "If dat's what ya want t' do, den dat's what we'll do."

"Are ya sure?"

"_Chere,_" he said, taking a hold of her hands, "I love ya too, so if dat's what ya want t' do, den dat's what I want t' do too. We'll keep it a secret."

And that's exactly what they have been doing for almost the past year. It was the reason he slipped into her room without knocking. Better to just slip in rather than knock and wait and possibly wind up talking to someone who was passing by in the hall. He shut the door behind him and turned around to face the sight of Rogue on the bed. What he saw completely knocked his socks off.

Rogue made it upstairs without incident, proving that the mansion really was nearly devoid of people. She could hear some of the younger students in the rec room, but the sounds of anime-like characters drifting out of the room as she walked by told her that they probably wouldn't even leave the room for a bathroom break.

Shaking her head with a slight smile on her face, Rogue climbed the stairs and went to her room. She looked around at the room she shared with Joseph for a moment before she started taking off her clothes. She knew that she and Remy would have to come out one day and it would definitely be before the wedding. There was no way she was going to go through with it. She could barely get through one planning session with Joseph anymore. She knew it was leading him to believe that something was up with her but she also knew that he didn't suspect any kind of affair. He most likely thought that she was having second thoughts or getting cold feet or something. Now fully naked, Rogue went over to her closet and began rummaging through the piles of her and Joseph's shoes looking for the stilettos that Remy wanted her to wear. She personally hated the way they hurt her feet but something about them was like an aphrodisiac for Remy. Finding them, she pulled them out of the closet, a clump of black material hooked on one heel.

"What the hell?" She murmured, a frown curving her lips. She pulled it off the heel and upon examining it, found that it was one garter-style fishnet stocking. An idea hit her and she went back into the closet, looking for the other one. Then she crossed the room and pulled a lacy black thong from her underwear drawer. She donned it all and then decided that if she was putting on the garters, might as well go the whole nine yards. Smoky eyes, red lips, emerald stud earrings. When she was finished, she stretched out on the bed in the most provocative pose she knew. Of course, that changed about six times in two minutes and she had to keep the last pose she made as Remy opened the door and closed it behind him. She guessed by the way his jaw hit the floor when he saw her, that she had done a good job.

"You're late, Cajun."

"_Je suis desole, chere_." He said earnestly, despite the smirk on his face as he crossed over to her. She sat up and kneeled on the edge of the bed as he stood in front of her and placed his hands on her hips. "I'm hopin' I can make it up t' ya."

She pursed her lips in thought. "Hmm….My feet hurt already from being in these ridiculous shoes. Ah think Ah should get a foot rub."

"As de lady wishes." He replied as Rogue got comfortable on the bed and stuck a foot out for him to start with.

"And take your shirt off." She smiled like a cat that had just gotten into the cream.

Remy nodded and shucked his shirt off over his head, sending it across the room and leaving him clad in just black sweatpants. He climbed onto the bed and kneeled by her feet, sensuously removing her shoe with lingering smooth touches. The shoe fell to the floor and landed with a thump before Remy began rubbing his thumbs in small circles on the arch of her foot.

Rogue, who was leaning back on her elbows and watching what was going on, dropped her head back and sighed with delight. "That's nice." The smile could be heard in her voice. She sighed again as Remy pressed a kiss to the inside of her ankle and continued to rub her feet. He trailed kisses all around the tender skin of her ankle, making her giggle, especially when he pressed his lips to the arch of her foot. He then rested her foot on his shoulder as his hand smoothed down the inside of her leg, unclipping the garters and slowly sliding the hosiery off her leg. Rogue closed her eyes and let herself fall back on the bed, smiling to herself. Remy always gave the best foot rubs. He started in on her other foot, taking the shoe off in the same manner. Again, he gently caressed her foot with his hands and his lips, making her both giggle and quietly moan with delight. He smoothed his hand down her thigh again and peeled off her stocking, but this time when he was done, Remy began creating a path of kisses down her leg. He paused for a few moments to dart his tongue out to tickle the back of her knee, making her squirm and swat at the top of his head.

"You better watch dat or yo' gonna find yo'self real alone real fast." He teasingly warned.

"Then stop ticklin' me and get down ta business Cajun." Rogue demanded. Any other time she would have loved for him to take his time and play her like a violin, but anticipation tended to make her quite vocal when they got down to it.

"Patience is a virtue _chere_." He lightly admonished against the side of her knee.

"Yeah, well, neither you nor me are very virtuous people." She snapped back, and then sighed as he finally began moving his lips up her inner thigh "Besides, you're still supposed ta be makin' it up ta me for bein' late."

"I was not late. I'm jus' playin' along with you."

"Ya wer—oh!" Rogue's breath was stolen away from her as Remy closed his lips over her panties, tongue teasing at her. She heard him chuckle satisfactorily and felt him take the fabric of her thong between his teeth and watched him pull it down her body.

"Ah'm savin' that image in my mental gallery." Rogue said, smirking just before Remy crawled up the rest of her body and summarily attacked her mouth with a hungry kiss. She moaned into his mouth with the pleasant surprise of it, thinking that he had been about to do something else. She threaded her fingers into his hair, and rolled Remy onto his back. While their tongues battled for supremacy over one another, Rogue slowly trailed a hand down his lean and hard body, sneaking it under his pants and gripping his rapidly hardening erection. Their kiss broke as Remy dropped his head back some and bit off a guttural moan.

"Don't stop, _Dieu_, don't stop." He panted as Rogue continued her actions and laved the skin of his neck with her tongue.

"Ah have ta." She said as her hand left him and grasped the waistband of his sweatpants. "Unless ya don't wanna have any real fun."  
Once she removed his pants and underwear in one action, she straddled him and began raining kisses on his chest, progressively traveling further and further down his chest.

"I thought I was supposed t' be makin' somet'in up t' ya?" He asked, slightly winded as Rogue dipped her tongue into his navel.

"Ah've decided that ya got ta have your fun in the shower." She said against the muscles of his abs.

"If I'd know dat, I would—" The rest of Remy's sentence was lost in something between a moan and a sigh as Rogue licked the length of his member, beginning at the base and ending at the top. Rogue smiled and then took the tip of him into her mouth, toying with it with her tongue. She took a bit more of him into her mouth, applying light pressure as she went and took the rest of him into her hand. Her lips retreated to the head of his length, swirling her tongue around the tip and dragging her tongue down along the underside before taking him into her mouth again. She worked him into a frenzy this way, lips and tongue and hand working in concert to bring him to the very edge.

"Oh_Dieu_…Rogue." He sighed between quiet moans or pressing his lips together as tight as he could to keep from getting too loud.

With a final lick along his length, Rogue pulled away and straddled him again, this time guiding him into her. Slowly, she sank down on him, drawing it out as long as possible. If the death grip that Remy had on her hips was any indication, it was taking all of his willpower to keep from completing in her right then and there. She rocked her hips in a slow and steady rhythm, enjoying the feeling of him being inside of her. Her hands traced random patterns over his chest as she moved, her breathy sighs filling the air around them. Briefly, she leaned down to kiss him, her rhythm quickening slightly before pulling away and leaving him wanting more. When she was upright again, her hands roamed over her body, starting with the flat planes of her stomach and moving upward, over her breasts. One stole up to the nape of her neck, lifting her thick mass of curly hair up to allow the too-warm skin to cool off. The other slowly slid down her body but never got to reach its destination as Remy suddenly sat up, wrapping one arm around her waist while his other reached up and brought her face down to his for a deep frenzied kiss. He started meeting her thrust for thrust and their kiss disconnected, Remy pressing the side of his face to her chest, gritting his teeth and trying to stave off climax as long as he could.

Rogue dropped her head back, depending upon Remy's grip to keep her upright as the beginnings of climax began coursing through her, teasing her with promise of release before ripping through her with a surprising intensity. A hand closing over her mouth, Remy's face buried into her chest, and him holding her hips hard to his as he thrust hard into her one last time were the last things she knew before she became awash in her orgasm. Vision and sound didn't register; all she knew was the heat and ecstatic sensation coursing through her.

Remy collapsed back onto the bed, taking Rogue with him, panting and spent. They laid there for a few minutes trying to catch their breath and regain some sense of coherency.

Remy was the first to speak. "You okay?"

"Ah'm fine." She replied, languidly moving off Remy to lay by his side and rest her head on his shoulder. It was never like this with Joseph and she wasn't talking about the hot intense love making either. Anyone could have that with proper stimulation. But whenever they lay together like this, with or without clothes on, Rogue always felt some deep connection between her and Remy that had nothing to do with sex. And he was able to remind her of it with just one glance or the way he made her feel like she was the most important person in the world when they were out together. Sometimes it felt like she could just wrap herself up in him and sink into some sort of happy otherness, content just to be with him forever.

"We have ta tell them." Rogue said, unconsciously pressing closer to Remy. "Ah'm tired of keepin' it secret. Ah'm tired of worryin' if we're gonna get caught or if we're sittin' too close tagether on the couch. Ah wanna be able ta walk around and hold your hand. Ah'm tired of makin' up lame excuses as a cover for a weekend away with ya. We gotta tell them."

"I know." Remy sighed, a tiredness to his voice as he wrapped his arm tighter around her. "Jus', not right dis instant, 'kay?"

"Ah know." She replied, lifting her head to look at him. "But Ah meant now in like the general sense. Ah think Ah'm ready."

"Ya sho'?" He lifted his own head slightly to properly gaze back at her, lifting a brow. "It'll change a lot of t'ings…dere's goin' t' be whispers."

"Ah don't care." She found his hand and threaded his fingers in between hers. "Long as Ah have you."

Remy dropped his head back on the pillow and smiled. How did he get so lucky? He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Alright. We tell dem."


	2. The End Is Just Another Beginning

_Damned_  
Part 2  
The End is Just Another Beginning

"So Jean was telling me that these flowers would be good because everyone would still be able to see each other across the tables. What do you think, honey?"

What did she think? She didn't think at all. They were flowers, who cared about which freaking flowers were at a stupid wedding that wasn't going to happen? Rogue smiled and laid a finger on the flowers next to the ones Joseph was talking about. "Ah like these, actually."

Joseph smiled back at her and Rogue's heart twisted. "Well, who cares what Jean says." He said, putting an arm around her. "It's our wedding, we'll do whatever we want, right?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. She couldn't do this anymore; he seriously thought they were getting married. Obviously her prayers that somehow Joseph would magically know about her affair with Remy, would be okay with it and it would be as if nothing ever happened between them went unanswered. It was a shame because despite what was going to happen between them, Joseph was a good guy. He just turned out to be not for Rogue and a damned sense of personal and, oddly enough, team loyalty kept her from breaking things off in a respectable way.

"Rogue, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Rogue blinked, realizing that Joseph had asked her a question. "Oh, um, whatever you want is fine by me."

Joseph raised a silver brow at her. "You sure? You've been pretty definitive about everything else."

"Yeah, well, Ah didn't think about this part of my weddin' when Ah was eight." She quickly defended herself. The truth was that she had never thought about her wedding when she was eight, much preferring to climb trees and beat the neighborhood boys at wrestling. She hadn't started thinking about her wedding until she was told that she was to probably never have one because honestly, who wanted a girl they couldn't touch?

"Ok then." Joseph said and wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Now, what about…"

But that hadn't stayed true, did it? It turned out that fate did not doom her to be The Untouchable for all of her life. All it took was time, patience and more than a few power boots from Sage. And now she had someone to touch her and not leave her wanting more. Joseph had been her first but when things happened with Remy, he had opened a whole new door on a new world. Anything with Joseph after Remy was like what two teenagers did in a basement before someone's parents came home. She still remembered quite clearly how Remy's skin felt sliding over hers, how his breath had ghosted over her skin leaving gooseflesh in its wake and the look in his eyes as he told her he loved her. It took a significant amount of strength not to curse Joseph where he stood for making her cut her time with Remy short. He had come home barely a half an hour after her and Remy's tryst which was not nearly enough time. Then they had climbed into bed together a short time later and the scent of Remy left on the bed was covered up by Joseph. But then was any amount of time enough with Remy?

"You know, if you don't want to do this right now, we don't have to."

"No, no, Ah want to." Rogue replied, fingering some catalogues and hoping to feign her way out of this.

"Rogue, I've been going on about Australian rugby teams for the past three minutes. You're obviously not interested. Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't feel like going through this right now?" Joseph apparently wasn't buying her act. Damned Cajun.

"Really, Ah want ta. Ah just got a headache is all."

Sighing, Joseph closed all the open catalogues and magazines, taking her hands in his when he was finished. "Please answer this question honestly for me, Rogue." He said. "Is there something going on that I need to know about?"

Rogue swallowed and closed her eyes. This was it. She could tell him now and finally get it done and over with and move on with her life. Or, she could lie yet again to him and wait. Gathering up her courage, she opened her eyes and looked in his. "Ah need ta tell ya somethin'."

"Go on." He encouraged. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Taking a shaking breath, Rogue said, "Ah…Ah've been seein' someone else." Each word took more effort than the last to get out, part of her screaming in fear that all the lies were about to come undone.

Joseph laughed dryly, nervously. "C'mon, Rogue, that's not funny. Really, what's bothering you?"

"Ah'm sorry. Really, Ah am. But Ah'm not playin' games anymore, Joseph. There's someone else."

There was a long silence during which the slight smile on Joseph's face slid off as the look of pained regret stayed on Rogue's face. "…Oh God, you're serious, aren't you?" He paled slightly as realization washed over his head like a cold bucket of ice water.

Rogue nodded sadly. "Ah am so sorry. Ah never meant for this ta happen…things just got so out of control so fast and before Ah knew it, we were sittin' here pickin' out invitations."

"I-I thought, maybe, a couple of times but…" He looked at her helplessly, like she had just run over his favorite puppy and then backed over it for good measure. "How could you do this? What the fuck is that matter with you!" Joseph was standing now, fisted balled at his side.

"Please don't get angry—" Rogue started, laying a hand on his forearm.

"Angry?" He shouted back at her, flinging her hand off of him. "What did you think was going to happen, Rogue?! That I would just stand here and take it?"

"No, Ah just—"

"Who is it?" He demanded.

"No, no." Rogue shook her head. "You're not goin' after him."

"It's LeBeau, isn't it?" When Rogue was quiet, he shouted again, "Isn't it!" before storming out of the room.

She took a moment after Joseph left to drop her head into her hands and sob a few curses before running out of the room after him.

* * *

Remy licked his lips, looking down at the grain of the wood beneath his hands. Looking up, he saw Betsy reflected back at him in the mirror, waiting for him underneath silk sheets. She was outstanding in bed and the looks she was throwing his way promised that this time she would definitely not disappoint. She was a perfect match for him in terms of sex and debauchery and had they met prior to their lives as X-Men, they would have been perfect for each other in every way. But there was Rogue. Rogue, who gave him something he hadn't even known he needed until she gave it to him. She gave him challenge and understanding, forgiveness and hope for him to become a better man. Rogue, who understood what it was like to be used and abused, and who understood what it was like to have to fight for every day.

"S' matter, luv? Havin' a bit of trouble?" Betsy purred from over by the bed.

Rogue, who was able to make Betsy look like a trashy desperate tramp without even trying.

Remy turned around to face Betsy, keeping his hands behind him on the dresser, in case he should have to grab for something fast. A little seen side of Betsy was her temper and Remy had a feeling he was going to be an object of that temper in a few moments.

"_Non_." Remy shook his head, answering lightly as if he were not about to drop an emotional bombshell on her. "It's just dat I can't do dis anymo'."

Betsy purple brows knitted together in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked carefully.

He took a breath and hesitated. "I ain't exactly been de most faithful man t' ya _chere_."

Betsy's lips pursed, a sure sign that she was biting the inside of her lower lip in a effort to contain her ire. "I'm afraid I'm going to need you to be a bit more clear, luv."

"I been involved with another woman, Betts. _Je suis desole_" He hoped that she wasn't too blinded by her anger yet to see that he really meant it. He hadn't planned on hurting anybody when this started, but because of Rogue's wishes it was something that had to happen now.

Betsy was now out of bed and putting her arms through a purple silk robe with black edging. "'Been' as in 'was' or are you still 'involved' with this woman?"

Remy had the good grace to look down at his feet. "Still…still am."

"For how long?"

He braced himself for her reaction; his answer was liable to set her off. "'Bout a year now."

"A year?" Betsy repeated, incredulous anger clear in her tone. "You've been fucking around with some other stupid bint all this time? You fucking son of a _bitch_!" She had crossed the room to him while speaking and had shoved him rather hard on 'bitch'. "I ought to gut you where you stand!"

She moved to strike at him but Remy caught her wrists and held them still, close to his bare chest. "Betsy, listen—"

"Listen?! You expect me to listen to you now that you've told me that the past two and a half years have been nothing but a sodding lie?!" Betsy shouted. "Let me go you disgusting pig!" She tried to get away from him, but when she couldn't, Betsy stomped down hard on his bare foot in her stiletto heel. Thankfully, the actual heel didn't go through his foot or anything, but Remy wouldn't have known the difference as Betsy had some wicked lower body strength.

As he bent slightly to cradle his foot, Betsy took the opportunity to smack him across the face, long nails scoring his cheek slightly. "Betsy, stop it!" He shouted back at her, forgetting about his foot and putting a hand to his now-throbbing face.

"No! You deserve every bit of it!" She moved to hit him again, but stopped upon hearing shouting from somewhere else within the mansion. He could see her make the connection to the voice being Joseph's and then watched as her face turned to fury upon the realization that Rogue was probably the "other stupid bint".

"It's _Rogue_, isn't it?" She spat the name as if it was poison on her tongue. "I should have known! The time you two spend together, the buddy-buddy-ness…!"

"_Chere_, wait!" Remy called after Betsy as she fled the room.

* * *

The scene culminated in the foyer, empty, as it was still somewhat early for a Saturday morning. Joseph burst into the room, screaming Remy's surname, as Betsy appeared at the top of the stairs. Both scorned lovers locked eyes for a second, possibly finding a new and unwanted commonality.

"Where is he Betsy?"

Betsy was about to answer but was interrupted by Rogue coming into the room. "Do ya really think you're gonna be able to take Remy on in a fight?" She stopped as she felt eyes on her and looked up to see a very angry ninja-by-way-of-Britain staring down at her. Without a word, she vaulted herself over the railing and landed neatly in front of Rogue.

"Betsy, look." Rogue began, putting in hands up in a placating manner. "We never meant ta hurt anyone…" Betsy loomed closer, her psychic knife beginning to make its glowing appearance in her right hand.

The Southerner stuck her chin out in defiance and stopped unconsciously backing up. "Go 'head Betsy. Do it. Ah dare ya ta try and survive in my mind."

"Get away from her Betts. You wanna go after someone, ya go after me." Remy said, himself appearing at the top of the stairs as Psylocke did only moments ago.

"She won't, but I will." Joseph said, rising into the air, fists balled at his sides. He flew forward and tackled Remy into the wall, curses and grunts filling the air as they tumbled down the steps to the bottom. When they landed at the bottom, they separated, Joseph recovering fast enough to sock Remy across the jaw.

"Joseph, stop it!" Rogue shouted above the din of fighting men, starting towards the brawl.

"Where do you think you're going?" Betsy demanded, shoving her on the shoulder and blocking her path. "What the hell do you think gives you the right to sleep with my man?"

"Nothin'." She rudely shoved Betsy out of the way, intent on breaking up the fight. "But it happened and there's nothin' ya can do about."

Betsy blocked her path again, this time shoving Rogue back a few steps. "Like hell there's nothing I can do about it!"

"ENOUGH!"

All parties stopped yelling and froze at the sound of the Professor's stern voice. A sharp look from the man had Remy reluctantly letting Joseph out of the headlock he had him in. Rogue hadn't realized how loud they were all being until now, where it was now quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"What is going on in here?"

No one answered. There really was no simple answer and no one currently felt like taking the time to inform the Professor. However, Charles would not be denied. Joseph was the first to speak, pointing an accusing finger at Remy. "He's been sleeping with Rogue!" He said it as if Rogue had had no say in the matter and it was all totally Remy's fault.

"I ain't jus' sleepin' with her, you asshole!" Remy hotly said, slapping Joseph's hand out of his personal space.

"You fuckin'—"

"Silence!" Charles interrupted, rolling further into the room. "If you all will please follow me into my office, we can resolve this issue like normal, civilized adults."

* * *

It was a long meeting, with many interruptions of yelling and arguments and Logan having to keep Joseph and Remy from tearing the room apart. By the end of it, Joseph had packed up and left, taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. Betsy left too, albeit to the Boston chapter of the Institute with Emma Frost. It was hours after the meeting and Remy found Rogue on the edge of the dock on the lake, watching the sun sink beneath the trees.

"Hey." He said softly, so as not to startle her and standing an overly polite distance away from her. This way, he could quietly let her be upset if she was upset and protect himself should she now think that their coming out of sorts had been a bad idea and blamed him for it.

Rogue looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey yourself." Her tone was rather flat, almost gloomy sounding. He waited a moment and when she didn't tell him to go away, he took that as an invitation to sit next to her. As he settled next to her, he noticed she had one pantleg rolled up and was dangling her foot in the water, tiny minnows coming up to nibble at her toes. She swished her foot around in the water and scared them all away.

"Ya know, Ah was expectin' some kind of punishment." Rogue said, rueful half-smile on her face.

Remy smiled slightly himself. "Can't really punish us fo' our personal lives, eh?"

She sighed and settled into him. "Guess not. Still doesn't stop me from feelin' bad. Ah mean, Ah feel so relieved too, but Ah…" Rogue trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Remy put an arm around her. "S'alright. It's over now, we can move on and relax. Not have t' worry about t'ings anymo'."

"Yeah, Ah guess." Rogue moved so that Remy's legs were on either side of her and she leaned her back against his chest. A tiny bit of warmth bloomed in her chest as Remy wrapped his arms around her waist. She then twisted around and slapped him lightly in the chest. "Why'd ya have ta go and tell Betsy the same time Ah was tellin' Joseph?!"

Remy's eyes widened. "I didn't know! I roll over dis mornin' and she's got on de lingerie and she wants me t' take it off her. I thought that since we agreed t' tell dem de night before…dat sleepin' with her would have been cheatin' in a way. So, I got out of bed and told her. She didn't take it too well."

Rogue snorted. "Way to state the obvious sugah."

"Just wanted t' make sho' yo' simple River Rat mind could understand de situation." His remark earned him an elbow to the ribs that make all the air rush out of his lungs in a rush. But despite the pain and discomfort, Remy had a smile on his face.

And so did Rogue and that was all that mattered.


End file.
